Nice post, Frosst

I'll just mention one thing that occurs to me when i read your post. Stealing. I used to think a blind steal was a "failure" when I got called or raised. Not true. If we choose the right type of hands, we can raise a ton from LP/BTN and get into situations we can still exploit postflop, using position. I got a lot more profitable in stealing situations when I looked both for villains in the blinds who were likely to fold AND ones who were going to be easy to outplay post flop. Of course, that presumes you can actually outplay them. You need bigger stacks and a straightforward opponent. There's no point in trying to outplay a 20bb short stack postflop. There is no postflop against a stack that short. And trying to outplay a tricky opponent with a mediocre hand is dicey, too. Pick on people you whose reactions (based on Frosst's reads/notes) you are sure you can get the best of. You've gotta look at opponents and stacks and THEN your cards, to see if there's a good opportunity to open-raise from the CO. It's an art, not a science, but it can be practiced, like Frosst says.